Beyond The Thirteenth Stroke of Midnight
by MyraValhallah
Summary: Theirs began as a Cinderella story as Prince Charming fell in love with the Girl and gave her certain powers, but ended in exile in a moment of madness instead of Happily Ever After. Years later fate brings them together again but will true love be strong enough to win the day?
1. Prologue

_**This has been one hell of a long time coming. Back in 2009 I posted a oneshot called "Oh Its You". I promised a prequel. I won't be keeping that promise. Instead I present the revised and expanded version, inspired by the recent Disney Cinderella movie, and the Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien but based on neither.**_

 ** _This story is dedicated to everyone who I have kept waiting for six long years._**

 ** _Chapter revised: January 2016_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize._**

* * *

 ** _Prologue_**

The thirteenth hour was at hand. Sarah Williams was exhausted, but she refused to allow her nemesis to see how weak she was feeling. Steeling herself, Sarah leapt off the platform she had ended up on after chasing her baby brother through a room which was the very image of an M.C Escher work which she had a print of in her bedroom at home.

The room crumbled around her but Sarah drifted safely down to what seemed to by the actual ground in the ruined room. The goblin king appeared out of the shadows across from her, and Sarah refused to allow herself to be moved by how exhausted he looked. Instead, she took a deep, steadying breath and began to recite the words which would free her and Toby from this glitter drenched nightmare.

"Give me the child," she said, injecting none of the dramatic flourish she normally used when speaking these all important lines. "Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered, I have thought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City, to take back the child that you have stolen."

A strange look settled on the King's face; pain and anger seemed to be warring for dominance on those aquiline features.

"Sarah, beware." His voice was quiet but the note of warning was unmistakable. "I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."

"Generous?" Sarah scoffed. "What have you done that's generous?"

Cruel yes; throwing that snake at her, taking two hours from her time limit, and setting those sodding cleaner things on her and Hoggle; but generous? Hardly. Were this one of those stupid action movies that daddy so enjoyed she might make a cutting remark about him needing to invest in a new dictionary.

"Everything!" The King snapped. "Everything that you have wanted, I have done. You asked that the child be taken- I took him. You cowered before me- I was frightening. I have reordered time, turned the world upside down and I have done it all for you! Isn't that generous?"

' _Yes,_ ' Sarah's treacherous teenaged heart admitted, but she forced herself to ignore it, and him. "My will is as strong as your and my kingdom is as great..."

She trailed off again as those next, all important words continued to elude her. The Goblin King took his chance, producing one of his trademark crystal balls and held it out to her.

"Sarah, look at what I offer you," he purred. "Your dreams. Just let me rule you, and you can have anything you want."

God it would be so easy to give in. All she had to do was reach out her arm and take the ball from him.

No, no she couldn't do that to Toby, couldn't condemn him like that. It wasn't his fault that she didn't know how to calm her baby brother down. What was that damn line?

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave."

The king's words were oddly familiar, almost as if she'd heard him say them before.

 _'Don't listen, Sarah,'_ she told herself. _'Don't let_ _him have power over you.'_

Of course! Sarah felt herself smile as the words she needed to free herself were ready at the tip of her tongue. All she had to do was say them. "You have no..."

"No!" the Goblin King growled, cutting her off. He was right in front of her now, white gloved fingers closing tightly around her shoulders. "Sarah, stop..."

And then he was kissing her. Fire tore through her as his lips crushed hers. Sarah couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe; all she knew was the Goblin King's kiss. Sarah found herself clutching at him for support as her knees buckled.

"Jareth," His given name slipped from her lips for the first time in years as she tried to focus on the man she loved even as the darkness rose to swallow her. "Why…"

* * *

Jareth cried out in alarm as Sarah collapsed against him. He couldn't lose her now; not when he had spent so long searching for her in hopes of amending his most grievous mistake; that would be too cruel.

He gathered Sarah's unconscious form up in his arms and carried her out of the illusory room and up to the chambers they had never yet had the opportunity to share, barking an order to a passing goblin to fetch a healer on the way.

Jareth had been searching for Sarah for years, and it was just his luck that he had almost missed her. It was humiliating that that bloody dwarf had recognised her before Jareth had himself, and he was her husband. Sarah would have a grand time laughing at him for that when she got wind of it, providing she saw fit to forgive him.

He laid his long lost bride on their bed and removed his gloves. He took her bare hands in his and watched as the last vestiges of childhood melted away revealing the beautiful woman that was the Goblin Queen.

"I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me my love," he told her, bending to kiss her fingers. "But now that I have you back I shall never let you go again."

Sitting at his Queen's bedside, the Goblin King lapsed into silence; unable to tear his gaze away from her face for fear that she would fade as she always had in his dreams.

~v~

* * *

 ** _There's the prologue :) I have left the original version of this story up if you're curious._**

 ** _Please leave a contribution in the little box._**


	2. Chapter 1: Paper Faces on Parade

**_Hey_** _**guys,**_

 ** _Thank you to everyone who followed and/or favourited this story. And a special thanks to TimeLadyHope, LunarCatNinja and Loki's Only Love for their lovely reviews._**

 ** _Returning readers may have noticed that the title and summary have been altered. I have also revised both this chapter and the prologue a bit too._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter One: Paper Faces on Parade_**

Once upon a time in a faraway land; long since resigned to human myth; stood the kingdom of Misthaven. Long ago the king and queen of this land had come together through a masked ball at which nobles had rubbed elbows with peasant- whether they wanted to or not. Each and every year on the anniversary of King Christopher and Queen Ella's first meeting a ball very like the one at which they met was held in hopes of someone else finding the happiness that they had found. And this year, at long last, the famed king and queen would get their wish.

* * *

Sarah Grinling was sixteen and thus finally old enough to attend the anniversary ball. Much like Queen Ella before her, Sarah lived under the tyranny of a wicked stepmother, and along with the apparently traditional pair of stepsisters, she also had an infant half-brother. Sarah tried to live by the kingdom's cardinal rule, to _be kind and have courage,_ but it was so damn hard, except where little Tobias was concerned- he was an adorable baby, though well on the way to being as spoiled as their sisters.

Sarah was hurt but almost entirely unsurprised to learn, on the morning of the ball no less, that she had apparently, _"volunteered to remain_ _at home with the_ _baby,"_ while the rest of the family went to the ball.

"Are you sure Sarah?" Her father, Sir Robert Grinling, asked her when his wife had delivered the news over breakfast, a meal that Sarah had made and served herself. "You already do so much dear, come out with us and have fun, you deserve it."

Sarah ate in silence, all the while cursing her stepmother, knowing from experience that actively going against the bitch would result in a further pile of chores on top of the seemingly endless list that had slowly accumulated over the years of her father's second marriage.

"Well Sarah?" Elodie, the older of her stepsisters, prompted from her mother's left hand side. "Are you sure?"

"Yes papa, I'm sure." Sarah nodded, forcing herself to remain calm. "Flora hasn't had a night off since Toby was born."

"Yes," her father agreed, although clearly troubled by her refusal to attend. "I suppose you're right."

And so it was that Sarah was left holding little Tobias as her father and step-family, dressed up to the nines, climbed into the carriage and sped off towards the castle.

"Well little man," said Sarah to her brother. "It looks like it's just you and me now, eh?"

"You should'n' lets 'er gets away wi' that little Lady." A familiar voice piped up as Sarah turned to re-enter the house.

"I have to Hoggle," Sarah returned, not looking at the dwarf who had tended the gardens since before Sarah was born. "She'd only turn on you or papa if I didn't."

"You lets her have too much power over ya, Sarah." The dwarf informed her. "What would yer Ma think if she could sees ya now?"

Sarah scowled at that, her mother had been the one to hire Hoggle, and since her death twelve years previous, the pair had bonded over shared memories. "That is a low blow, Hoggle. Leave mama out of this."

"She'd wants ya to go to that ball Sarah," he insisted. "Told me once that she met yer Pa at the Anniversary Ball and I thinks she'd want ya to go an' dance even if it's only once. I'll looks after the lad too."

Only now did Sarah turn to face the dwarf. He was her best friend; one of only a very few thanks to her stepmother, but she knew he wasn't fond of babies. "You'd do that for me?"

"O'course." Hoggle nodded. "Jus' don't yous go forgettin' me when yeh meets yer prince charmin'."

"Who are you again?" Sarah laughed, and found that she couldn't resist teasing him. "It's Hogwart right?"

Hoggle rolled his eyes. "Away with ya, Sarah."

"I'll put Toby to bed, and get changed. Thank you Hoggle, I mean it." She stooped to kiss him.

"T'ain't nothin'." The dwarf demurred, blushing profusely.

Sarah turned and ran into the house.

* * *

Jareth mingled with the assembled masses in faded blue frock coat and black breeches filched from the palace laundry, black mask hiding his face and his short blonde mop of hair tamed for once into a show of respectability. Jareth loved a party, masquerade balls especially. At a party a man could forget his troubles for a while, providing the drinks kept flowing; but at a masquerade, one could all but forget who he was. Jareth wanted to forget who he was; forget that he was nothing more than a bard, a glorified court jester.

He had danced with a few young ladies, commoner and courtier alike, making a game of getting each respective partner to guess how he knew just where she stood on the kingdom's social spectrum. But he was beginning to grow bored. Perhaps it was time to leave; Saether, his childhood guardian and now closest friend had been quite insistent about Jareth attending this function, but as yet Jareth was unable to ascertain why.

And then he saw her.

A new guest had entered the ballroom. A girl in royal blue, the dress was too sheer to be considered fashionable in this age of ruffles and flounces, but too fine for the girl to be a peasant. The dress had capped sleeves and a square neckline edged with white lace trim. Her white mask, which matched her elbow length gloves, covered her face from hairline to lip and her dark hair fell loosely around her shoulders.

Beautiful.

* * *

Irena Grinling laid her head on her husband's shoulder as they whirled with the other dancers. The night was perfect. Her daughter's had been whisked off to dance almost as soon as they had arrived at the palace and she had not seen them since, and Sarah was at home, out of the way. Every year Sarah grew to look more like her mother, Lynette Grinling had been a great beauty if the portraits around the manor were any indication, and Irena's own daughters, lovely as they were, paled in comparison to Robert's daughter.

Honestly, Irena did not dislike Sarah. No indeed, her stepdaughter was well mannered and knew her place in Irena Grinling's home. If it weren't for the fact that she had her own two girls to see married and comfortable, she would not have a problem with the girl.

Or at least, that was what she told herself.

"It's a shame that Sarah insisted on staying at home tonight, don't you think?" Robert mused.

Irena looked up at him, glad that the peacock mask she wore hid her irritation.

"Yes," she nodded, after a moment's pause, injecting a sad sigh into her voice. "A shame,"

Flora, Tobias' nurse, and her gentleman caller- Alfred the tailor's apprentice- passed by at that moment and if Irena was any judge of such matters, then she would say that soon her son would be needing a new Nursemaid.

Sarah was so good with the baby that Irena doubted they would need to hire anyone.

* * *

Misthaven was a small kingdom. Sarah knew that, but it was rather hard to believe it when you were surrounded by the vast majority of its citizens. She had never seen so many people. Perhaps it had been a mistake to come here; she ought to have stayed at home with Tobias and Hoggle. She turned, ready to concede defeat. There would be other balls, once Danielle and Elodie were married off...

"Surely you aren't leaving already," said a voice from behind her as a hand caught her own. "You've only just arrived."

Sarah whirled around and found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes watching her from behind a simple black mask.

"I..." Sarah swallowed. "That is I..."

The man's lips curved up under his mask and his eyes sparkled with amusement. "Are you always this articulate Milady?"

"Are you always this insufferable?" Sarah shot back, scowling up at him.

He laughed at that. "Would you honour me with a dance? Consider it recompense for a first offence."

Sarah arched an eyebrow, but allowed the stranger to lead her onto the dance floor and expertly guided her through the crowd of their fellow dancers. "Are you expecting to offend me more often then?"

"No, but if you allow us more than this one night I cannot promise never to offend you, life, you'll find is like that sometimes."

"More than this one night?" Sarah echoed, feeling bold. "Presumptuous aren't we, I mean I don't even know your name."

The dance came to an end and as the assembled dancers broke into polite applause, Sarah's partner sketched a bow. "Jareth, Milady."

"Sarah." Sarah returned, bobbing a clumsy curtsey. "Milord."

The man, Jareth, took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. " _Enchante_ , Lady Sarah." And he swept her back into his arms as the orchestra began to play again.

~v~

* * *

 _ **Next time: Sarah proves that she is not Cinderella, and Jareth receives some world changing news**_

 _ **Please leave a contribution in the little box :)**_


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